The Lipscomb women’s volleyball team opened up the regular season with a 2-3 loss against Houston at the Oklahoma Invitational in Norman, Oklahoma on Friday. The first matchup of the two-game weekend pitted the Bisons against the American Athletic Conference’s number two ranked team in the preseason poll. Lipscomb entered the game behind 0-2 in the all-time series.
Lipscomb put up a great fight throughout the five-set losing effort. Sophomore and Edmond, Oklahoma native Kamryn Bacus led the team with 21 kills, 1 service ace and 22 points. Sophomore setter Delaney Dilfer put up an impressive 53 assists with 5 kills and 3 service aces. Dilfer’s 53 assists tied a career record for the All-ASUN Second Team selection last year. Standout freshman Anna Aubele put up 6 kills, 4 service aces and 10 points in her first Division I regular season game.
In set one, Lipscomb put up an 8-point run to take the 25-23 win with a close battle all the way to the final point.
Set two was a back-and-forth battle between the Bisons and the Cougars with a 25-22 final set score. The Bisons were able to put together two 4-point runs en route to the set win.
The third set was a bit of a challenge, as the Cougars put up four in a row to take a 5-point lead in the set. Lipscomb was able to close the gap to 22-25 in the set loss.
The fourth set was closed out in magnificent fashion, as Lipscomb closed a 5-point gap to bring the set within two. Eventually, the set ended in a loss after a late kill by Houston to emerge 25-23 victors.
The fifth set ended 5-15 and included a service ace by Dilfer. The Austin, Texas native accrued three aces on the day after putting up 16 last season.
Next up for both teams is a second matchup in the Oklahoma Invitational. Lipscomb matches up against host school Oklahoma on Saturday at 12 p.m. central, while Houston will play both Oregon State and Oklahoma in a Saturday doubleheader.